Newsletter

Illegals scarce in S.C. prisons

COLUMBIA, S.C. - When Juan Rodriguez, a suspected illegal Mexican immigrant, collided with Josh George as the 17-year-old student drove home from prom last month, emotions boiled in Beaufort County.

George, a Bluffton High School junior, died of his injuries days later.

Rodriguez, 20, was charged with driving without a license, operating a vehicle while uninsured, disregarding a traffic signal, felony DUI and leaving the scene of an accident where a death occurred.

Some Bluffton residents said it was typical: Illegal immigrants are more likely to commit crimes because their very presence here sets the tone for subsequent offenses.

But inmate data portray a different reality.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington-based nonprofit group advocating for restrictions on immigration, estimated South Carolina had 76,000 illegal immigrants in 2005.

This year, there are 369 illegal immigrants in South Carolina prisons, making up a relatively small slice of the total prison population of 24,000. That indicates the number of illegal immigrants behind bars is roughly proportional to their estimated presence in the state.

If illegal immigrants aren't imprisoned out of proportion to their share of the rest of the state population, why do people believe they commit more than their share of crimes?

The media and popular biases can skew the public's view of crimes committed by immigrants, said Lee McElveen, Hispanic/Latino coordinator for the South Carolina Commission on Minority Affairs, which is a state agency.

"When something negative happened in an immigrant community or to an immigrant, then this came to the media's immediate attention because immigration was the hot topic at hand," she said. "It puts a sour taste in everyone's mouth."

Red flags

The General Assembly passed landmark legislation this year to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants. During the debate, Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, pointed to a car accident in Horry County in 2006 in which two teens, both here illegally, pleaded guilty to striking and killing a woman while racing their cars.

Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, also sees a correlation between illegal entry into the country and other crimes.

"All you have to do is look at the police blotter in the paper every day," he said. "It'll give you a sense of the increase in crime and who's committing the crimes."

He said there are several red flags: "When (suspects) don't have a driver's license, and you read they have no insurance or a fake driver's license or they give three different names, or they're having a hard time communicating ... maybe they might be illegal?"

But, the lawmaker added, "that's not saying all of them are."

Tough pursuit

Herbkersman said the number of illegal immigrants in state prison might be higher if it were easier for law enforcement and the legal system to apprehend and prosecute them.

"If they don't show up for trial, where are you going to go to find them?" he said. "And if they're let go, you'll never see them again."

When crime suspects thought to be illegal immigrants are released on bond awaiting trial, they are not automatically deported.

Suspects are entitled to due process in the legal system, said Barbara Gonzalez, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noting that they must first go before an immigration judge and receive an order of deportation.

"We are enforcing immigration law irrespective of criminal background," said Gonzalez, adding that those who are convicted of the worst offenses get guaranteed attention from ICE once they've completed their sentence.

Where they're from

Of 369 inmates identified as illegal immigrants, 248 (or 67 percent) were from Mexico, including four women. The other top nations of origin include:

Honduras: 20

Guatemala: 14

Jamaica: 14

Cuba: 10

El Salvador: 7

China: 5

Haiti: 5

Costs increasing

The cost to house an inmate is about $14,000 per year, says South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesman Josh Gelinas. With 369 illegal immigrants in the state prison system, the cost to taxpayers is $5.1 million. Corrections data show the number of illegal immigrants has more than doubled from 171 in 2003 to 369 recorded so far this year.

Asking all inmates their country of origin. If they say they were born outside the United States, officials alert the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Notifying ICE if an inmate does not have a Social Security number or cannot speak English or if a background check with the National Crime Information Center indicates the inmate is not a U.S. citizen.

If the inmate is found to be here illegally, ICE takes custody once the prisoner completes his or her sentence.

Source: South Carolina Department of Corrections

Where they're from

Of 369 inmates identified as illegal immigrants, 248 (or 67 percent) were from Mexico, including four women. The other top nations of origin include:

Honduras 20

Guatemala 14

Jamaica 14

Cuba 10

El Salvador 7

China 5

Haiti 5

Costs increasing

The cost to house an inmate is about $14,000 per year, says South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesman Josh Gelinas. With 369 illegal immigrants in the state prison system, the cost to taxpayers is $5.1 million.

Corrections data show the number of illegal immigrants has more than doubled from 171 in 2003 to 369 recorded so far this year.

Asking all inmates their country of origin. If they say they were born outside the United States, officials alert the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Notifying ICE if an inmate does not have a Social Security number or cannot speak English or if a background check with the National Crime Information Center indicates the inmate is not a U.S. citizen.

If the inmate is found to be here illegally, ICE takes custody once the prisoner completes his or her sentence.